Zira/Main article
Zira is the main antagonist of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. She is a lioness who was the leader of the Outsiders and the mother of Nuka, Vitani and Kovu. Physical Attributes Zira has pale dark tan fur with a darker brown dorsal stripe running down her face and stopping between her eyes, a gray-cream chest, blood red eyes and a notch of unknown origin in her right ear. Her ears also feature two thin dark brown stripes. Like the deceased Scar, she is thin (due to either malnutrition or her genetic makeup), and her claws are permanently extended. Personality Zira is very impulsive, ruthless, and opportunistic, as shown when she prepares to attack Simba in broad daylight while he is alone until his pride shows up. She is also manipulative, as she warps Kovu's mind into killing Simba and, like Scar, seems to have no problem killing family members as she threatens to kill her daughter, Vitani, which also makes her a sociopath. She can be caring, both genuinely and mockingly so, for she coos to Kovu after harshly telling him to hush and deeply mourns Nuka's death. Information Early Life As suggested in the movie, Zira was previously a Pridelander during Scar's reign as king, where she bore Nuka and Vitani. It is unknown where Kovu was obtained, but apparently Zira is not his mother, according to Darell Rooney. While Scar was still alive, the two of them raised Kovu to be Scar's successor; his protege. After Scar's death, they were exiled immediately afterward by Simba for their remaining loyalty to Scar, and Zira was left to raise the child alone. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Zira is first seen trespassing in the Pride Lands, and closely examining her son's interactions with a female cub, snarling when the cub reveals herself as Kiara, daughter of Simba. When Simba himself appears ready to hurt Kovu, Zira quickly intervenes, roaring at Simba and stopping the younger lion in his tracks. The two lions converse, Simba telling her she broke the law of the land and must suffer the consequences. She offers up Kovu to Simba who hesitates to kill the cub, something she knew he wouldn't be able to pull off. Simba tells them to get out, saying their business is finished, but Zira corrects him and smirks dangerously and knowingly at Kiara, stating their business was far from over. She grabs Kovu and leaves, returning to the Outlands. Zira strides by an informative Nuka, ignoring him with a less-than-pleased expression on her face and a helpless Kovu in her mouth. She drops the cub none-too-gently into the sand and turns her fury about the cub's disobedience on Nuka. Kovu steps in on his brother's behalf and she chews him out instead. She questions him into oblivion about acting friendly towards a Pridelander rather than repelling them like he should've done and through her scolding gets an idea: to get Kovu to use Kiara so he can kill Simba. When Kovu is a young adult and has completed his training, she circles her son, very much approving of the manipulated monster she's created in Scar's image. She comments, "You have the same darkness that Scar had," and reaffir ms her teachings by questioning Kovu himself about his destiny, teachings and his mission to kill Simba and take Scar's place as king. Vitani and Nuka ignite the Pride Lands during Kiara's first solo hunt, and Zira watches the flare with Kovu by her side. She commands him into action and then leaves herself. After the fire rescue, Zira and Nuka sit a little ways from Pride Rock and observe Kovu's actions. Nuka is disapproving of his brother's not harming Kiara, but Zira rebukes him, stating that Kovu was following the plan as he was supposed to be and that the fire rescue worked perfectly. She expresses her approval and anticipation by snapping a branch in half. Later, after Vitani reports Kovu is no longer on board with the plan, Zira quickly devises a plan to get Kovu back. When Simba takes Kovu out to walk, she the rest of the Outlanders ambush him, and credits Kovu for this. As Simba instantly loses all his trust for Kovu, she orders her pride to attack. They pursue him through the clogged gorge and eventually trap him at a dam. Simba climbs up the wall of logs, and upon seein g Kovuat the top, Zira commands him to get Simba. Kovu, instead, does nothing, so Nuka climbs up the dam, seeing his chance to prove to everyone he is the lion everyone thought Kovu was. However, he is pinned under the logs, and dies in the process. Zira mourns her son's death and quickly accuses Kovu for it (even scratching at his face, thus making a scar like Scar's over his right eye), causing her son to run away guilt-ridden. thumb|left|266px|"You killed your own brother!" With her son dead and the chosen one 'corrupted,' Zira has had enough, and moves into the Pride Lands to take it by force. The Pridelanders meet the Outsiders head on and after telling Simba that she refuses to go home, she commands her troops to attack. Zira stays on an elevated knoll throughout the majority of the fight, and upon seeing Simba swarmed by Outsiders (though still holding his own), she attacks. The two face off, but Kovu and Kiara intervene. Moved by Kiara's words, and disgusted that Zira threatens her own daughter, the Outlanders cross over to the Pridelanders' side and stand against Zira, leaving the lioness unwilling to let go of the past. On Scar's behalf, she leaps out to kill Simba, but Kiara intercepts it and the two roll over the side of a cliff. During this time, logs off to the side of the gorge burst, which opens a massive river underneath the lionesses, and after refusing Kiara's help twice, Zira finally falls to her death. Concept Art Out of all the lions who were conceptualized despite Vitani's concept being unclear, Zira doesn't seem to change in the slightest. The only thing she seems to be missing on her ref sheets and concept art are her ear strips. There is a rumor amongst the fandom claiming Zira's original name was Bianca, which means white or fair in Italianhttp://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Bianca. Her name suggests her fur would have been white or pale-cream like a Pridelander female's. In the videos, Proud of Simba's Pride and Proud of Simba's Pride part 2, a lioness in a rough storyboard appears. It is unknown if this is Zira, but it seems to be taking place around or during "My Lullaby", so it is heavily speculated to be her. The suspected Zira concept is more more heavily built than the finalized Zira, and has no visible Outlander traits. Family Tree Songs *My Lullaby Trivia * The notch in Zira's right ear occasionally changes sides during the movie, which is a common mistake by the animators. * According to her concepts, Zira's eyes were once to be green, like her son's. * In an alternate scene that survived to the rough animation stage, Kiara offers Zira help, but Zira, with a twisted grin, replies, "No... never," and releases her claws from the cliff, falling into the swollen river below, thus committing suicide. This was considered too dark for a Disney film, so it was cut. * Zira's working name is rumored to be Bianca. That name means "white, fair" in Anglo-Saxon, which is ironic to her dark personality seen in the final film. * Interestingly, in a brief scene during "My Lullaby," Zira is seen with blue eyes and not red. * On a Disney website, Zira is described as Scar's sister.The Lion King 1½ - Who Wants To Be King Of The Jungle? Whether or not this is true or a mistake is unknown, but considering the aim to eliminate incest in the film by obliterating Scar's relation to Kovu during production, it probably is as that would be counter-productive. ** Certain sources and speculation by some fans claim that Zira was Scar's mate, including a Lion King II storybookhttp://art3.server01.sheezyart.com/image/236/2365877.png and a Disney website. However, director Darrell Rooney confirmed in a statement made on Facebook that Zira's relationship with Scar was purposely obscured in the middle of production due to the incestuous undertones Kovu's romance with Kiara would have had. *** Rooney later made another statement on Facebook about Kovu, describing him as an orphan, in which case, Zira would only be his adopted mother. * Zira's inspirations are most likely Lady Montague from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (as she is the mother of Romeo, who is presented in the film as Kovu) and Eleanor Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate. In the Proud of Simba's Pride documentary, Rooney mentions Simba's Pride taking inspiration from Manchrian Candidate. In relation to Zira, Mrs. Iselin is a ruthless power-hungry mother of a brainwashed son sent to kill a presidential candidate. 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